


Dawnbringer Short Stories

by Synapticstatic



Series: Dawnbringer [2]
Category: Dawnbringer
Genre: Multi, Oneshot, Short Story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-09-15 01:06:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16923711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Synapticstatic/pseuds/Synapticstatic
Summary: Just some short stories with my characters. Occasional crossovers and collaborative projects.





	1. Silence

Sometimes we shock a nerve so much it dies.  
Sometimes we feel something so much that it just becomes invisible to us.  
This was what was happening to Tobias.  
He’d been at the apartment, waiting for Victoria, his girlfriend of four years, to come back from her patrol. Both Victoria and himself were in the Warriors of Light, a group of spellcasters and fighters that handled threats of a magical nature, that a normal police force couldn’t handle. The night had been going well when he got the call. He muted the TV before picking up his phone. Vesuvianite, a friend of Victoria’s, was calling him. He tapped the green icon, then the speakerphone button.  
“Hello?”  
“Tobias?” There was a high-pitched, feminine voice on the phone. That was Vesuvianite, or Crystal. She never used their real names, it was always their Warrior codenames. Something was wrong.  
“Yeah, it’s me.” Tobias said, his brow furrowing with concern. There was a sniffle on the other end of the line.  
“T-Tobias… Victoria’s dead.” Crystal sniffed again, the sound muffled by the bad connection. He stopped, staring at the phone.  
“I- what?” He struggled to keep his voice steady.  
“She’s dead, she died…” Crystal whimpered.  
“No, you’re lying, she’s not dead, she can’t be! You’re lying!” He shouted, feeling the familiar lump in his throat that began before the pricking behind his eyes.  
“I-I’m not l-lying…” Crystal said, her voice breaking.  
“I…” He stared ahead. It had been just that morning she’d said goodbye, hadn’t it? His eyes fell on a pair of earrings that she’d left behind. She’d run out the door. She’d woke up late that morning. She’d kissed him, then said “I’ll finish that show with you tonight, okay?” He’d nodded, then she’d left. “Bye!” Then, the door had slammed, and… that was the last time he’d seen her. That would be the last time he’d ever see her. His vision blurred with tears. He tried to stop them, no, he couldn’t cry, he shouldn’t, he was tougher than this… Even as he thought this to himself, he felt the tears begin to slide down his cheeks.  
“Tobias?” Crystal’s voice hesitantly said. He didn’t reply as his breathing started to hitch. “Tobias, you there?”


	2. Attack of the Dark

“NO!”   
Victoria’s shout echoed off of the walls of the house in front of them. She raced up to the scorched doorway, armor clanking. Tobias paused in the driveway, horror in his eyes.   
“What’s going on?” Amber asked nervously.   
“They… They got here before we did.” Tobias sounded defeated. “There won’t be any survivors.” He glanced at the burned mark on the lawn. A pair of wings being dragged down by tentacles. It had been branded onto the door, too. Victoria forced open the locked door and ran in.   
“Hello? Anyone? Answer me!” Victoria shouted. Crystal sighed, leaning against the mailbox, blinking back tears.   
“Crystal? What’s that symbol?” Amber asked softly.   
“It’s the symbol of the dark,” Crystal said bitterly. “It’s left on the doors of people they kill. There was one on your apartment, I remember.” Amber flinched. Tobias walked up the driveway and into the house, stepping through the splintered door.   
“Anyone?! Please, say something!” Victoria cried, her voice frantic. “Guys! Please!”   
“Who was supposed to be here?” Tobias asked, sticking his head through a window.   
“Solstice, and Volcano, and- and the Loves, I think…” Crystal called back, her voice trailing off. Tobias looked worried, but nodded and ducked back inside. He emerged after a few minutes with Victoria. His eyes smoldered with anger.   
“All dead,” Tobias said, his voice dangerously quiet.   
“Y-you’re sure?” Crystal asked, but it sounded like she knew the answer.  
“They got here before us, killed them all. Solstice was barely alive when we went in, she died a few minutes after we found her. She couldn’t speak because of the flashing.” Tobias continued. “Vol was at the foot of the stairs. He was evidently trying to stop them, that’s why there are burn marks. And the Loves… We found them hiding behind the bed, both dead…”   
“M-may I…?” Victoria nodded. Crystal started walking towards the house.   
“You should go in too, Amber. So you can learn the signs of a Dark attack.” Amber slowly followed Crystal. Inside the house was chaos. Tables overturned, chairs broken, several doors nothing but ash. Crystal walked into what would have been the living room, then paused. A young elven girl was lying on the ground, a dark, goopy substance dripping from her eyes and mouth. Her short, choppy blond hair was stained with the stuff, and her eyes were colorless, like the irises had vanished. Amber recoiled, horrified.   
“Dear God,” Crystal murmured.   
“Kyra…” Amber said, recognizing the girl. An Eladrin. She’d joined the Warriors a few months before Amber had.   
“Yes… Poor Sylvar…” Crystal walked around the body and paused at the bottom of the stairs. A man with a dark blue stone around his neck was lying in a pile of ash that must have been the first few steps. Crystal stepped around him without a word and continued upstairs. Amber paused, her eyes studying the man’s face. His eyes were hollowed out, sockets empty. This had to be Volcano. She didn't want to continue, but she felt like she had to, she'd come this far, right? She picked her way around Volcano and scurried up the stairs. Crystal was looking behind the bed, tears sliding down her face. She walked out of the room, biting her lip. Amber heard her race out the door before bursting into tears. Amber peeked around the bed and gasped. The two people- she guessed they were the Loves- were wrapped around each other, the boy shielding the girl with his body. They both had the same stab wound- straight through the stomach. Amber stared for a minute. She'd seen them a few times around the academy. They were never separated, even in death, it seemed. She hoped it wasn't painful for them. She bit her lip. No matter how many times she'd see dead bodies, she knew they'd never stop creeping her out. She slowly walked out of the house, taking care to avoid looking at any of the bodies. When she walked out, Crystal was crying into Victoria’s shoulder.   
“We should go,” Victoria said softly, then started walking away, leading Crystal. “Sorry you had to see that, kid.” Tobias said. “We wanted you to meet them, not see their corpses.” He paused. “I think you would have liked Vol. He was like you.” He started to walk away, then glanced back, his green eyes hard. “I hate them,” he muttered. “I hate them all. I hate what they do, I hate what they stand for, I hate what they put people like you through, I just-” With a shout of anger, Tobias turned at the nearest thing- the mailbox- and punched it, denting the flimsy metal. Amber jumped, backing away. He kept punching, growling “I hate them, I hate them!” over and over. With a final hit, he toppled the mailbox. He stood over it for a moment, knuckles bleeding, then he growled and stalked away, leaving Amber to stare at the broken mailbox.


End file.
